Prices of various winter vegetables have witnessed a massive plunge in the ongoing harvesting season, putting farmers in dire straits, as it has been difficult for them even to get their investment back.
Md Hanif, a farmer of Charaikhola under Nilphamari Sadar, said he has cultivated radish on his three bighas (1 bigha = 30 decimal in the area) of land this year.
"My production is outstanding, as per bigha output has increased significantly this season. But price of the produce has declined massively."
He said radish is being sold at Tk 15-20 per maund (40 kg) now, which was Tk 250-300 per maund a month back.
He said the farmers got some money by selling immature radish in November, but price of the seasonal crop has dashed to the ground now.
"Many of them have even requested neighbours to collect radish from their fields at free of cost, as they are now in a hurry to clear the fields for Boro crop or wheat cultivation."
"I'm going to incur a net loss of Tk 10,000 this year from radish cultivation," he added.
Md Gofur Mian, a farmer of Gopalpur under Kushtia Sadar, said the production cost of cabbage was Tk 7-8 per kg, but they are getting only Tk 3-4 per kg.
"I've also planted onion on one bigha (33 decimal in the area) to sell both onion and onion plant, but their prices are much lower compared to those of the previous year."
"Last year I sold onion at Tk 40 per kg in mid-December, which is now Tk 14-15 per kg, though the production cost is all the same."
"I'm expecting to get 20 maunds worth Tk 12,000 from the land, but the production cost is not less than Tk 11,500, excluding my self-labour," he further said.
Usy Marma, a farmer of Ali Kadam under Bandarban, said this year he has cultivated local bean on two bighas of land near his homestead.
"Local bean is now being sold at Tk 6-8 per kg, which was Tk 22-25 per kg in the same time last year," he concluded.
"Most of the farmers can avoid their loss, if the government introduces community-based cold storages," said ASM Golam Hafiz, a teacher of agricultural finance at Bangladesh Agricultural University.
"Price debacle is a common phenomenon for the Bangladeshi farmers. It is also a key obstacle to eradicating poverty in the rural areas."
He also said the government should take move to introduce community-based cold storages across the country, where the farmers can store a portion of their crops. The step can be initiated in some unions on pilot basis.
He said providing adequate storage capacity to them will also benefit the consumers, as it will gradually elbow out monopoly business of the big traders and cold storage owners.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is eyeing to get 12.8 million tonnes of vegetables from 0.75 million hectares of land in the ongoing financial year, 2014-15, of which the target for winter season is 0.9 million tonnes from 0.48 million hectares.
Vegetable production reached a record high of 12.6 million tonnes in the previous fiscal, the DAE data showed.
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